NEWCASTLE: In his own small way, 抖阴短视频鈥檚 Othman Almulla is like Edmund Hillary and Neil Armstrong, who were the first to conquer Mount Everest and walk on the moon, respectively.
The 37-year-old from Dhahran has gone where no Saudi has been before. He is the first professional golfer from his country, and perhaps feels the same excitement and trepidations that Hillary and Armstrong must have felt decades ago as they stepped into unchartered territory.
Unlike the two legends, whose adrenaline would have peaked at the completion of their conquest, Almulla says he has been on a never-ending journey ever since that balmy afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 30, 2019, when he stepped onto the first tee of the Royal Green Golf & Country Club in the company of South African legend Ernie Els and England鈥檚 Andy Sullivan.
At exactly 12:45, he somehow controlled the millions of butterflies fluttering in his stomach, tipped his cap to the hundreds of fans and family in the crowd and sent the golf ball soaring toward the atmosphere.
Life has never been the same again. His responsibilities have only been accentuated by the ambitions of 抖阴短视频 in the world of golf, and the fact that there are youngsters who are now following in his footsteps. Almulla has been an exceptional brand ambassador for Saudi Golf, and a mentor to Saud Al-Sharief and Faisal Salhab, who joined the professional ranks earlier this year.
All three are part of this week鈥檚 Asian Tour鈥檚 International Series England, just one of the many incredible opportunities given to the threesome by Saudi Golf.
Almulla, Salhab and Al-Sharief are like a band of brothers on the Tour, and the senior player in the trio takes great pride in the role he is playing in the journeys of the other two.
鈥淭he idea of becoming a professional in the Kingdom was so far-fetched at the time that most people actually thought it was like landing on the moon. And I鈥檓 taking the same joy and delight in seeing Faisal and Saud this year realizing the same dreams that I had,鈥 said Almulla.
鈥淭hey are going through similar planning phase and learning, the same tough lessons I had to learn. Just to be able to share my experiences and making their transition to professional life a little softer landing 鈥 just to go back to the moon metaphor 鈥 has been such a delight, such a privilege.
鈥淚鈥檝e been very lucky to have some very supportive people in my journey. And just as I鈥檝e had people to guide and advise me, it鈥檚 my responsibility to give back. I鈥檝e always felt like we鈥檙e one big family. It鈥檚 been familial friendship and it鈥檚 just like welcoming my brothers to do something I鈥檓 doing. To have three of us doing this, when we do not have that many golfers in our country, it鈥檚 something special.
鈥淒on鈥檛 get me wrong. I also get a lot out of this relationship too. We have great camaraderie when on the road, and we can lean on each other when times are bad. We support each other when times are good. Yes, it鈥檚 a responsibility, but it鈥檚 something I do happily, and I will continue to do.鈥
Like Hillary, Othman has always had lofty ambitions. He wants to stand on the summit of professional golf and unfurl the Saudi flag.
鈥淚 have no doubt that with the support we are getting from Saudi Golf and from the Ministry of Sport, we will have a winner on the Asian Tour in the next few years. We are incredibly lucky that our journeys have been cut down by 40 to 50 years. Countries (with) 100-year legacies of golf, struggle to have players on tour like this and International Series events like this,鈥 said Almulla.
鈥淗ere, and in St. Andrews next week, I think the aim for all of us is to make the cut, and then making a deep run in the weekend. We鈥檇 like to be in the top-60 of the Order of Merit on the Asian Tour soon. But those are the big, long-term goals. We are more focused at the moment on smaller goals, smaller targets from a statistics perspective, on how we want to play each week. How can we keep on improving with every outing? We are getting used to different challenges, like the weather this week. We hardly play in such cold climate and rainy conditions.鈥
The Almullas welcomed their first child, Ibrahim, into the world seven weeks ago, and fatherhood has been a new motivation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing. A golfer鈥檚 life is very difficult. We鈥檙e on the road for many weeks and the families have to bear the brunt a lot. I have an amazing wife and family supporting me, and to be a dad is surreal,鈥 said Almulla.
鈥淢y life鈥檚 changed. Now, as much as I want to make my parents proud, I also want to make my son proud. I鈥檓 going to be a good role model for him and kind of show how to carry himself and how to treat people with respect and be a good person. That鈥檚 all fathers should expect from their son.鈥
The $2-million International Series England runs from Aug. 17 to 20 at Close House in Newcastle.
